When the Stooges and MC5 fought back against the White Panther drug bust
If you were a heavy rock band that sprouted anti-authoritarian views in the 1960s, it wouldn’t be long before you got the attention of the police. Bands like The Stooges and MC5 found themselves on the receiving end of this kind of targeting multiple times, but it was MC5’s manager who was one of the first to be arrested and tried because of it. He was locked up for selling a joint to some undercover police officers and was facing over a decade in prison.
So, who was MC5’s manager, and why was he important? We often label the ‘60s as a decade of innovation and love. Granted, there was a lot of that going around, but it also reflected troublesome times. There was war happening, social and political divide, and the differences in opinions for generations were well and truly highlighted following the assassinations of people such as Martin Luther King Jr and RFK.
Activists were taking action against a nationwide attitude that they didn’t align with. This meant protesting and setting up different movements in a bid to make their voices heard and stand up against corruption. One of the people driving this activism was John Sinclair, who set up the political White Panther movement.
The White Panther movement was set up to lead a countercultural revolution. Their mindset aligned with the similarly named Black Panthers, as they advocated against racism and generally rejected modern culture. The movement’s founder, John Sinclair, was also a writer, poet and the manager of MC5.
Authorities weren’t happy with these organisations having too loud a voice as it provoked unrest. Naturally, these organisations saw the unrest as rightfully necessary, so they were unrelenting in their protests and expression. People high up in the White Panthers found themselves in the public eye, and it was Sinclair who ended up getting arrested. As previously mentioned, he sold a joint to some undercover police and was looking at serious jail time.
Both The Stooges and MC5 were trying to find their feet in the music industry at the time. MC5 had released their debut album, which had charted at number 30 in the charts. Meanwhile, the Stooges were tipped to be the next big thing; they had an eclectic sound, playing rock music and had one of the best lead singers in the world in the form of Iggy Pop. Their burst onto the scene was more of a pop, though, as their debut self-titled album failed to climb any higher than 106 in the charts.
Both bands wanted to try to support their friend when he was facing jail time, so they held some benefit concerts in his name. While this was a good idea, it didn’t work too well because neither of them had broken into the mainstream as much as they had wanted. As a result (paired with a poor defence), Sinclair found himself in jail and sentenced to ten years behind bars.
All seemed lost for Sinclair; however, his guardian angels (in the form of more famous musicians at the time) eventually came forward and campaigned for his release. Thanks to the vocality of people like John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, and Jane Fonda, Sinclair only ended up staying in prison for two years.
